I loved the atmosphere at UC San Diego Extension International Programs, especially in my Medical English classes. All the students showed great willingness to learn and we asked the teachers numerous questions during class. Most of the questions were very interesting to me and sometimes so controversial that we seriously discussed them. I found these open discussions really precious because I had never experienced them in Japan.

One of my goals for the future is to work as a doctor in the U.S. The Medical English program has helped me come closer to achieving this goal. Through this course, I learned about America’s medical services in-person. For example, many health care providers were guest speakers in the program and we also visited several hospitals in San Diego on field trips.

Although unrelated to my studies, playing soccer with local UC San Diego students was one of the most enjoyable experiences during my time in San Diego. There are several turf fields around the UC San Diego campus and a lot of sports communities. It was a great change of pace to belong to one of them and make some American friends.

My goal is to become an English teacher in Japan. The TEFL Professional Certificate at UC San Diego Extension International Programs helps me create lesson plans focusing on speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Because many of the teaching methods covered are not common in my country, I am constantly learning new ways of teaching. I am majoring in Korean language at my university in Japan. When I return to Osaka, I plan to get a teaching license for teaching Korean as well as English. Many of the techniques I am learning in the TEFL Professional Certificate will help me teach not only English, but other languages as well.

I highly recommend the TEFL Professional Certificate to prospective teachers and ESL students. Students without teaching experience can become ready to be a teacher and students who already have teaching experience can modify and improve their teaching methods. ESL students who have not decided to be a teacher can still develop their English skills in many TEFL classes.

TEFL Professional Certificate classes are remarkably interesting. Plus, there are events for all Extension International Programs students, so I have been able to find many friends who are taking other programs.

My goal is to become an English teacher in Japan. The TEFL Professional Certificate at UC San Diego Extension International Programs helps me create lesson plans focusing on speaking, reading, writing, and listening. Because many of the teaching methods covered are not common in my country, I am constantly learning new ways of teaching. I am majoring in Korean language at my university in Japan. When I return to Osaka, I plan to get a teaching license for teaching Korean as well as English. Many of the techniques I am learning in the TEFL Professional Certificate will help me teach not only English, but other languages as well.

I highly recommend the TEFL Professional Certificate to prospective teachers and ESL students. Students without teaching experience can become ready to be a teacher and students who already have teaching experience can modify and improve their teaching methods. ESL students who have not decided to be a teacher can still develop their English skills in many TEFL classes.

TEFL Professional Certificate classes are remarkably interesting. Plus, there are events for all Extension International Programs students, so I have been able to find many friends who are taking other programs.

In her role, she’s often as much a learner as a teacher. “Through my students, I love keeping in touch with what’s going on in the world,” she said. “I always enjoy learning how their cultures are changing.”

Students describe their interactions with Elizabeth as life-changing. Rachel Nero, a former Intensive Legal English student who is now enrolled at the University of San Diego School of Law, exclaimed, “I would like to give very special thanks to Elizabeth Mariscal because she changed my life. She was always so passionate and dedicated that it was impossible not to be excited about the classes. It was my first contact with American Law and I loved it. Her classes sparked my interest in pursuing further education in Law and if it wasn’t for her I think I wouldn’t have considered applying to an LL.M. program. She is very special to me and I am thankful I had the opportunity to be her student!”

Colleagues at the English Language Institute agree that Elizabeth motivates her students. “Elizabeth Mariscal teaches her classes with enthusiasm and professionalism, while ensuring her students’ intellectual needs are met,” said Lisa Kovacs, the academic coordinator for the English Language Institute’s 10-week English language programs.

Roxanne Nuhaily, executive director of UC San Diego Extension International Programs added, “For many years, Elizabeth has contributed to the quality of UC San Diego’s English Language Institute and its success in meeting the needs of international students preparing for their academic and professional goals. Through her excellent teaching she continues to inspire students.”

Elizabeth is certainly one of the English Language Institute’s most versatile instructors. Her areas of expertise are many: Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL); training younger ESL instructors; TOEFL preparation (she has consulted for a publisher on TOEFL products); medical writing seminars; editing medical manuscripts; and U.S. politics, government, and law.

“My primary goal is always to help my students learn English,” she said. “But they all have diverse goals.” These goals could be attending law school, teaching English, or simply being able to communicate in English around the world for personal reasons.

With expertise in course design, Elizabeth has developed the curricula for several ELI classes, including the Intensive Legal English program. This program is geared toward advanced students who would like to enroll in a law school in the United States, or who are already practicing attorneys in their home countries and would like to become familiar with American legal practices. Many Intensive Legal English students take advantage of conditional admission to LL.M. (Master in Laws) programs in San Diego, including the University of San Diego, Thomas Jefferson School of Law, and California Western School of Law.

“When they first get here, I find many students know very little about the American legal system or they have misconceptions about it,” she said. “They’re always surprised to learn how diverse we are, and the wide range of people’s thoughts, views, subcultures, and the role of law in our society.”

Since I came to San Diego, I have never felt homesick. I have never felt a huge change in the environment or the atmosphere I moved to. However, coming here was never a wrong decision because I actually felt a change–and that change was in me.

I am standing here today to briefly share one of the most valuable lessons I have learned from this journey, and I know I will continue to learn from it.

Even though I spent more than a year studying English at the same place, I have learned a lesson that I had not learned before. I learned this lesson by meeting all of you – my peers – from different parts of the world. This lesson is accepting each other the way we are, because sometimes people may not have a choice in their lives. It all depends on how a person was raised and what that person was taught. Don’t be quick to judge a person because this may be the way they were raised.

Here is an example. A friend of mine loved eating pancakes with sunny side up eggs, but his friend would eat cereal with yogurt. These two persons thought of each others habit as weird and unacceptable. These people were raised on different styles, so they could not conceive of another breakfast food.

Obviously, the point of the story is not breakfast food. I ask you to think deeply about how we are all different, even in the small details, and that we all have this right to be different. Different histories and different cultures can affect a person’s personality and beliefs. I pray five times a day, and some of you believe in other practices, whether they are related to religion or not. And all of that is never a shame. The lesson I’m trying to say is: different cultures, different traditions, different beliefs, different religions, yet we are all humans.

Actually, thinking more about it, all races, all religions, and all nationalities agree on one thing: Peacefulness and Freedom.

So, whether you are continuing on at UC San Diego English Language Institute (ELI) or continuing on to a new venture in your life, remember to interact with people from different races, cultures, or religions. Try to be more flexible by assimilating with different cultures and accepting them. We all make up humankind and nothing else denies this fact.

In closing, I would sincerely like to thank my ELI teachers and my fellow students for being part of my lesson. To my friends – thank you for being more than brothers and sisters throughout this experience. I’m really looking forward to seeing all of you in high positions in the future.

Thank you.

Raheel Alnemer

Closing Ceremony Speech Spring 2016

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We could use more people in the world like Raheel. Thank you, Raheel, for choosing UC San Diego ELI as your study abroad destination. Are you a wonderful student like Raheel? We’d like to meet you and welcome you to campus. Contact us!

Unable to take a full 6 months off to complete UC San Diego Extension’s Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Professional Certificate program? Good news! Now, you can complete 12 units of the 27-unit program online, from your home country, and 15 units here, at UC San Diego.

You read that right! The following four required core TEFL Professional Certificate courses (12 units) are now available online, and may be completed before or after your studies here, at UC San Diego:

Best Methods in Teaching Listening Skills (3 units)

Teaching Writing for Academic and Professional Purposes (3 units)

Theories and Methods of Language Teaching and Learning (3 units)

Theory and Methods of Reading Instruction (3 units)

To receive the official Professional Certificate in TEFL, students must complete all 27 units within one year.

We still have space available for our Summer 2016 intake. Interested in applying? Contact our TEFL Advisor, Chad Baldwin, at tefl@ucsd.edu. Not sure if this is the right program for you? Contact us and let us convince you!